


Sweetly Reunited

by Mindl3ss



Category: Zootopia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-14
Updated: 2017-04-14
Packaged: 2018-10-18 18:02:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10622208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mindl3ss/pseuds/Mindl3ss
Summary: Based on the 'Sweetly United' series by SophieWitch. This non-cannon addition to the collection is an exploration of a possible future for the next generation of the Wilde-Hopps family, set 20 years after part 4, 'paradigm Shift'. This work was written with permission of SophieWitch and I do not own any of the OC's contained within. I highly suggest reading the entirety of 'Sweetly United' before reading this.The torch has been passed and the Wilde-Hopps kits have gone out into the world. Each follows their parents' footsteps in one way or another, driven by their own goals and desires. Though they have gone their separate ways, dark forces of the past enevitably pull them back together. An old enemy of Zootopia weaves its way into their separate lives, and draws them back on a collision course with each other. Only together can they overcome, and defeat the enemy their parents faced before they were even born.





	

Before I start I have to give full credit to SophieWitch for creating the main characters of this story. This is a non-cannon continuation of the series 'Sweetly United'. So go read that first if you haven't yet. It is excellent, and well worth reading in its entirety. This is my own take on a possible future for the next generation of the Wilde-Hops family. It is written with permission, and I don't own any OC's yet introduced. Well, credit due, and credit given, I can continue. Enjoy, especially you, SophieWitch, for without you, none of this would be possible.

Chapter One: Footsteps

Nick gazed out across the fields toward the setting sun. His back rested on the large wheel of the tractor as he chewed idly on a stalk of wheat. On his head rested an old, tattered cap that had belonged to his grandfather many years ago. He breathed in the country air. The richness of the earth laced with fresh cut greens was intensified by the first bite of autumn. It was the first day of harvest, and the festival was right around the corner. He looked across the wide open landscape. There was so much work still to be done. As the orange sun began to touch the horizon he sighed and looked over his last haul of the day. The large trailer was full to the brim with carrots and cabbage. Nick smiled to himself as he mounted the tractor and turned the key. "Another day, another dollar." He said to the old machine as it rumbled to life. He patted its hood as he did every time it started up and drove back towards the barns. As he drove, he wondered what his sisters were doing.

Two hundred and eleven miles away, River trudged into her dorm wearing at least her own weight in gear. She was tired, dirty and hungry. As she fought her way out of her overstuffed pack, she gritted her teeth. The day had not been an easy one and her whole body ached. The course had been long, nearly ten miles, and had led her and her team through some of the most dangerous trials of their training yet. A fall from nearly twenty feet onto a hard ice sheet had winded her within the first mile. She had taken it hard on her right shoulder, but rolled out in time, saving her shoulder from more than a little bruising. She had taken another heavy blow across her back when a team mate, a grizzly bear had slipped down a sand dune and rolled over her on his way down. The brutal temperature changes from cold to hot, all the while running or swimming or crawling through blinding wind or thick mud had beaten all of them to a pulp. River was the smallest on her team. She led them well, and kept them from serious injury. Her team had finished first to boot. It had been the final test for her team, and in no small part thanks to her, they had all passed. River was going to graduate, and top of her class, too, just as her mother had. But River was too tired to celebrate. All she wanted was a nice hot shower, a hot meal, and a warm bed. She peeled the last of her muddy clothes from her red and auburn fur and grabbed her towel. She could be proud later. Now she needed to feel clean. As she turned on the water in the dorm showers, she smiled, finally allowing herself a moment of pride. She couldn't wait to show off her badge to her brother and sister when she went home for the festival.

On the other side of town, safe within the shadows of a back alley, Sam sat cross legged on a tire. Before her a small fire raged in an old rusty barrel. Beside her were a handful of her cohorts, counting out the days spoils. Across the fire from her, an old fennec fox sat in a torn up and discarded easy chair. He regarded her with eyes that seemed a thousand years old. Everyone in the gang was a hybrid of one kind or another, cast offs that either couldn't find a place in society, or felt like they didn't have to. And they came to old man Finnik's campfire to keep warm at night. The diminutive old fox was wise and he cared deeply for his orphans, but he ran a tight ship. They all had to pull their weight to belong. Belonging was something they all desired. It was something they all lacked. Old man Finnik would take them in, teach them to hustle, and collect a percentage. And today Sam had nothing. She looked down into the fire as her stomach growled. Around her, the other hybrids ate what they could afford with their meager earnings. But Sam had no dinner tonight. Old man Finnick sighed. "I knew your father, kit. A long time ago." Sam's ears perked up. "What? And you never told me?" Finnik shook his head. "Nicholas Piberius Wilde was the greatest con artist this city has ever known. Where did you go wrong, little girl?" Sam growled. "My father wasn't a thief. He was a cop, my whole life he was one of the most respected members of the ZPD." Finnik nodded. "Before that he was my partner in crime. He could hustle the wool off a sheep and sell him the sweater for a profit. That fox was sly, kit. But he was a good mammal. He took care of his own" Sam scoffed. "Yeah. Where is he now?" She muttered sullenly. Finnik gave her a hard look with his teeth bared slightly. "Probably at home wondering when his firstborn is going to call, you ingrate!" Finnik barked. Sam looked away and fought back tears. "How long has it been, kit? I know it's been more than a few months. That's how long you've been out here with me." Sam said nothing. She didn't look up. Finnik frowned and poked at the fire again. "I can't make you go back, Sam. And I'll continue to watch over you as long as I can. But you have people who care about you. Whatever you did, it doesn't matter. You don't belong here with the others. They don have families." Sam sighed and nodded somberly. "I get that, but... I'm not ready. We just don't see eye to eye. It's not worth the fight." Finnik softened a bit. "Come here, kit." Sam hesitated a moment, before standing up and rolling her tire around the fire to sit with the aging fox. He dug a package of sausages out of the large cooler beside his chair and threaded two onto sticks. He passed one to Sam. "I will not make a habit of this, so do not think you can slack off in my pack. I want you to listen well, kit." Sam graciously accepted the sausage and began roasting it along side the elder fox. "I want to tell you about the one mammal your father could never trick. Half my lifetime ago, we used to con this city blind, kit, your father and me. Then one day we tried to con a cute little bunny meter maid. But she hustled him. She hustled him good..."

-  
Three days later...  
-

River stood proud with her classmates. The gold tassels on her shoulder shining against her dark blue uniform. She could barely contain her excitement. All her hard work had finally gotten her where she had longed to be since she was a small child. She glanced back to the audience. Her father grinned back at her with pride. But he looked tired. He seemed older than when she had left for academy three months ago. River returned his grin and returned her focus to the gruff buffalo who was reading his speech to the crowd. "... Look inside yourself and realize change starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with all of us." He set down his script and looked directly at River. "In the immortal words of then officer Judy Hopps, who's ambition, determination, and drive have continually inspired the Mammels of Zootopia. It seems only fitting that now a quarter of a century later, the child of our first rabbit officer, River Skylar Wilde-Hopps is to be our first hybrid officer. As commissioner of the ZPD i am proud to present this badge to valor dictorian of her class, Officer River Wilde-Hopps." River approached the podium and Commissioner Bogo gave her a rare smile as he pinned the badge to her uniform. Behind them both, Judy was fighting to keep tears from escaping her eyes. Her hands were clasped over her muzzle. Commissioner Bogo shook River's hand gently. "You've made us all very proud, River. I'm confident you will follow in your mother's footsteps with bravery and passion. Welcome to the force." River let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "I won't let you down, commissioner." Bogo released her Hand, and the crowd cheered. Her classmates threw their hats in the air as Judy ran up to hug her daughter. "Oh, River, I'm so proud of you." River hugged her mother back. "Mo-om, cut it out, you're embarrassing me." Nick walked up behind them, leaning into his cane. "The right of a parent, Officer Wilde-Hopps." River smiled to him, still trapped in her mother's arms. "Dad..." Nick only grinned and embraced them both. "We are so proud of you River. And for now, you can't escape it." He said as his tail wrapped around them both. "First rabbit, first fox, and now the first Box officer." Judy broke the hug to playfully swat at her husband. "I told you not to call our children boxes..." Nick grinned. "Better than your name..." He whispered to River. "Once apon a time your mother wanted to call you three 'Funnies'." River rolled her eyes and Judy glared at Nick. "I call them my children, thank you very much." Nick just grinned. "I call them trouble, and if River becomes half the cop you were, Cheif, I'd say I'm right." River struggled to free herself again. "Please don't start a teasing war with me pinned in the middle. You guys are so embarrassing..." Judy and Nick both laughed happily, overjoyed with their daughters success in following in her mother's footsteps.

Across town, another Wilde-Hopps was busy following in her other parent's footsteps. Sam had just picked up a drop off from a rather sketchy heavy set ram. She didn't know the contense of the package, but she knew better than to care. The job was simple. She would transport the backpack from the pickup point in the rainforest district to less than savory polar bear in tundra town. She doubted there would be any suspicion of a teenager wearing a backpack, so she took the subway. The ram had paid her well, and the polar bear would pay her again apon delivery. Sam was suspicious of the job, because it seemed so mundane, but it had paid so well. She wondered what could be in the backpack as she watched the lights in the tunnel go flashing by. She figured it was illegal, whatever it was. Maybe even dangerous. The more Sam thought about it, the more she didn't want to know. At the same time, the more her curiosity grew. Finnik had tough her never to ask, and to keep her nose out of what she delivered. When she reached tundra town, curiosity won out over caution, and as she reached the street, she made her way to an unoccupied alley. She looked around, making sure no one could see. She opened the bag to find it was filled with hundreds of small paper tubes. They looked like cigarettes. Though she knew better, she took one out and examined it. Along with tobacco, a few strange bright blue leaves poked out of the end. Suddenly she heard voices approach, and she closed the backpack and darted from the alley. Without thinking, she pocketed the rolled cigarette. Daunted from nearly being seen, she quickly made her way to the drop off point, and quietly made the exchange. Though the polar bear wasn't pleasant, he was professional, and the exchange happened quickly. Before she knew it, Sam was on her way back to Finnik's alley to cash in on her days work. She was so excited about her pocket full of cash, that she had forgotten about her other souvenir from the day. Little did she know the trouble it would bring her.

Two hundred and eleven miles away in Bunnyburrow Nicholas judas Wilde-Hopps was towing in the latest harvest. As he pulled into the barn his grandfather was waiting for him. "Hi, Grandad, what brings you out to the storehouse this evening?" Stu Hops smiled from behind his glasses. "Why the festival, my boy. It seems we'll be having a guest of honor this year." Nick shut the tractor down and hopped to the ground. "Oh yeah? And who might that be?" He said with a smile as he unlocked the gate on the back of the trailer. Stu beamed with his thumbs hooked in his overalls. "Why only the newest Officer of Zootopia's Finest, of course." Nick stopped working. "She made it! I knew she would." Stu grinned and began to help Nick unload the trailer. "Top of her class, just like your mother." Nick took the heavy bundle of carrots from his grandfather. "Grandad, please, you know you aren't supposed to be lifting heavy things." Stu frowned. "Nonsense, boy, I'm old, not invalid." Nick frowned back. "Grandad..." Stu sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll unload the lighter ones. That's the best deal I'm gonna make. Fair?" Nick shook his outstretched hand. "Fair. Just don't overwork yourself, or Gram is gonna whoop us both." They shared a hearty laugh before returning to work. Nick couldn't help but grin as he worked, knowing his slightly younger sister had made her dream come true.

Late that night, Sam lay awake staring up at the stars. The other pack members had all gone to bed, and Finnik had retired to his ancient van. Sam sighed and dug into her pockets to see what she had left after paying out to Finnik, who had been more than pleased with her score that day. Her hand found something that wasn't money and she pulled it out to see what it was. The strange cigarette she had swiped from the delivery. It brought her back to the fight she had with her parents before she ran away. They had cought her smoking. It seemed such a little thing to her. A few of her friends were doing it. Even her father smoked his pipe on occasion. Out here on the streets, no one had told her off. It was clear that Finnik didn't approve, but he smoked himself, and wasn't one to interfere with the lifestyle decisions of the members of his pack, so long as they paid their dues and remained loyal. The memories of the fight weighed on her, and she felt the need for one. "What the hell." She said to herself. She pulled her lighter from her pocket and lit the hand rolled cigarette. She felt the familiar calm of nicotine wash over her. It tasted odd, a little like fresh flowers, but she didn't immediately notice anything different. Then it hit her. A strange sensation washed over her. It began as a numbness and her vision blurred slightly around the edges, but her focus sharpened. Then her senses began to become more pronounced. Even the sound of crickets rang in her ears. She could pick out every little sound from the city. And the smells. The ash from the fire, the oils from the pavement the scents of her pack mates as they slept. She had never felt so alive. She took another drag and held it in. Everything intensified again. What was this magic? By the time she had finished the cigarette, she became aware of a feeling of heaviness as the long day finally caught up with her, aided by the drug she had just consumed. As she relaxed and sleep took her she embarked on one of the most vivid and wondrous dreams she had ever dreamed. Little did she know the turn her life had just taken. Little did she know what trouble those blue tinted cigarettes would bring.

-end chapter one.

Hope you like it. And I must say again, this story is a continuation of SophieWitch's 'Sweetly United' series, written with permission. All original characters are owned by SophieWitch, and I do not take any credit for what has led up to this work. Only my interpretations of a possible future. This is not cannon to the series, but the series does all take place before this, so if you have just read this and are at all confused, go back and read the entirety of 'Sweetly United'. Then thank SophieWitch for being awesome.


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